Political Quotes

“Madam President, I thank Senator Enzi, Senator Durbin, and Senator Alexander for their leadership on the Marketplace Fairness Act and am proud to join them to address an issue I have been working on for just over 20 years now. Tribes that have adopted sales taxes are faced with the same situation as States with regard to the collection of taxes on remote sales. Tribal governments provide essential government services to their communities, and including them in the Marketplace Fairness Act simply gives them the equal footing that they deserve. Tribal governments that attempt to collect sales and use taxes from remote sellers will have to follow the same streamlined requirements that all States must use, including software and audit compliance. Additionally, the software provided--free-of-charge--to remote sellers under this bill can easily calculate sales tax at the point of sale. Most tribal governments will negotiate agreements with their States to provide for the collection of sales and use taxes from remote sellers and remittance to the tribe. As a result, businesses will have no additional burden. It is important to note that this bill does not authorize States to collect a tax on sales to tribal members in Indian country. Under the bill's sourcing rules, read in conjunction with the definition of ``State,'' a sale within a tribe's jurisdiction would be subject only to the tribal tax, and not to a non-tribal State or local tax.…”